Marcus
Marcus Shinhigh/d'Ghallanda Male Halfling Rogue/Shadowdancer Overview: Marcus "Shinhigh" d'Ghallanda is a male halfling, and an extraordinary thief. His exploits range from simple things, like pickpocketing merchants, to grander accomplishments--such as stealing the Crown of Aundair (twice). He is 36 (fairly young) and has a very goal driven personality--and his goals are fame, a challenge, and women, mostly (fortunately they are not mutually exclusive). He's fairly charming, and has a sharp wit. He loves mischief, and tends to speak everything on his mind before letting authority figures respond.He is accompanied everywhere by his shadow, Ink, and his ability to take anything--as long as it's not liable to make the room attack him. He also keeps a journal, filled with his exploits, and hopes to release parts of it someday. Family: His family consists of himself, his father Dantin, his mother Elena, his older brother Imiril, and his younger sister Amethyst. Growing up he was largely ignored by his parents (his father preferred his older brother, and his younger sister was his mother's favorite) and so he was free to amuse himself by sneaking around the manor. Dantin had been a successful inspector for house Ghallanda, and had then moved into the wine making business in the country side of Aundair. As soon as Marcus was old enough to realize he wasn't wanted, he left--deciding to explore. Career: The young halfling fell into a life of performing and stealing. Both had their challenges, and benefits. He eventually realized he was doing things in the dark that took him elsewhere--he later realized it was the plane of Shadow, after a certain someone (well, something) began to follow, and communicate with him. After that he began to look for bigger and better thrills, and better ways to hone his skills, culminating in a heist to "liberate" an artifact from the mages in Arcanix. Here (after a near-flawless job) he met his current adventuring comrades--and after apologizing for framing Tailswisher for his crime, he more-or-less tagged along on their trip to Fairhaven...since it sounded like fun. He didn't quite realize what he was getting into, though (perhaps the fact that they needed him to break into the castle should have sent up a warning) and while he certainly enjoyed the challenge, he could have avoided the pain and near-death experiences. He played a semi-important role in the Battle for Fairhaven, mostly in expressing his concern for the complete lack of Aundarian readiness. His squad was decimated by Kilrana, though he later got his revenge when he nabbed her weapon. After the king lost his fight, Marcus re-acquired the helmet, and proceeded to evacuate with the rest of the group. On board he made himself better acquainted with the other party members (and many of the women on the ship as well). The ship was alright--he managed to endear himself to the populace with his charm and generosity, but it was small, with not much to do. As he thought more and more about what had happened, and the consequences of it, he realized these people would need a place to go...and he realized he could provide them with it. And so began the plans for the "Shinhigh Home " a place "For those who need some help standing tall." He finished formulating the plans for his Home, and presented them to Ir'Bahkess--who agreed to assist. After that, he left to Karnath with the others, but not before endearing himself to yet another member of the royal family--the middle-prince. After Neria's sudden attack on Eurface, Marcus and Adonteon talked a bit, and the latter made Marcus a series of skeletal hands to do his bidding. Adonteon and Marcus stayed on the boat, searched it head to toe, and and worked on a couple of small projects, before teleporting back to the pirate ship (with a small mishap--good thing Adonteon had practiced swimming). On board they learned that their party members had conspired against the captain, and had been detained--they had since escaped, and Marcus and Adonteon rounded up the remaining animals, and shadow-walked to Rekkenmark, where they waited for contact from the rest of the party. In Rekkenmark, Marcus managed to finally get his papers changed from "Marcus d'Ghallanda" to "Marcus Shinhigh," though this involved Adonteon finding out about his family. He located a gem store to get some jewels for Adonteon, and met a very special someone--a changeling by the name of Keir. She had been following him for awhile, and was interested in the Shinhigh home, and after talking it was agreed that she'd take over. Trivia: *Marcus intensely dislikes horses, and tomatoes. *He carries a hip-flask full of brandy with him, and drinks from it frequently. *He gets frustrated when he has to deal with people he deems "stupid"--especially if they are in power. *He flirts with just about any woman who fits his standard of "pretty." *He keeps his 'trophies' to show off, with no intents of selling.